Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
Picking up on last episode, this episode dives deeper into personal applications of The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Today we look at specific ways to apply love languages to meeting personal needs for building yourself up, interrupting tendencies to tear yourself down, and considerations in processing traumatic experiences and high stress exposure. This episode leans heavy on the episode before, so if you missed it go back and start there!
Take the Love Languages Quiz here!
Episode Challenge:
· What is your love language(s)? How can you imagine applying your love language to how you process trauma/stress? How could you leverage your love language to help you interact with emotional intensity more effectively?
· Consider whether Beating the Breaking Point might be a fit to support you in filling the gaps in your training and enhancing your capacity for resilience in the face of persistent stress (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!). Learn more here, including what the program includes, our no-risk guarantee, and the high rated feedback from our past students.
Additional Resources:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman is one of the go-to books and resources for couples therapists and people seeking to care for each other well. But what if this same principle could go well beyond applications for couples and actually become a staple way that we think about ourselves, our needs, and be used as a tangible tool to build ourselves up and stop tearing ourselves down?? In this episode we are covering the fundamentals of love languages as a concept, and I am offering a new way to think about this classic concept that applies to you with love from you. If it sounds cheesy, think again, this has the potential to be a life-changing gift if you really take it and run with it. Try it, I dare you!
Take the Love Languages Quiz here!
Episode Challenge:
· What is your love language(s)? What kinds of things do others do that you really value and find meaningful in building you up? How do you sometimes engage in ways that use your love language against you to tear you down? How could you use some of the same principles to offer to yourself in ways that build you up, and reduce some of the things that you use against yourself that tear down?
· Consider whether Beating the Breaking Point might be a fit to support you in filling the gaps in your training and enhancing your capacity for resilience in the face of persistent stress (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!). Learn more here, including what the program includes, our no-risk guarantee, and the high rated feedback from our past students.
Additional Resources:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
I recently had a listener reach out and share about an experience where she was sharing that she had suffered a hard critical incident to a close friend, and the friends response was, “well, that’s what you signed up for.” Last episode I offered my rant-y thoughts on the matter and promised to put together a follow-up episode to offer some alternative ways loved ones can offer support and ways that First Responders & Front Line Helpers can communicate your needs to the people in your life. And here it is! I really hope that this episode offers some tangible tools that will allow you and your loved ones to transform moments that could be felt as dismissive or disconnecting into opportunities for deepened connection, trust and care.
Episode Challenge:
· What are some ways you might adapt the language in some of today’s suggestions to make them your own? Who might you need to try this with?
· Consider whether Beating the Breaking Point might be a fit to support you in filling the gaps in your training and enhancing your capacity for resilience in the face of persistent stress (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!). Learn more here, including what the program includes, our no-risk guarantee, and the high rated feedback from our past students.
Additional Resources:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
I recently had a listener reach out and share about an experience where she was sharing that she had suffered a hard critical incident to a close friend, and the friends response was, “well, that’s what you signed up for.” …And my response may not have been all the therapeutic, helpful, responsive pieces it could/would/should have been…it may have sounded more like, “just go fuck right off”.
Admittedly, perhaps not my kindest response…but not without some reasons, and I’m sharing them with you today. If you have ever had this response of “this is what you signed up for” as a way of blowing off the validity and significance of what you have faced – this episode is for you. Not only is it for you, it is also for you to share with the ones you love so they know why that line is NOT ok and why it puts you at RISK.
This is probably one of my more rant-y episodes ever, and I will frontload that I swear, so be mindful of listening with child ears present. I will be putting together a follow-up episode that I will try to keep a bit cleaner and will work to offer some alternative ways loved ones can offer support and ways that First Responders & Front Line Helpers can communicate your needs to the people in your life.
Episode Challenge:
· What comes up for you when you hear, “well that’s what you signed up for”? What is your reaction? Do you believe that’s true? What would you say to someone in your life if they said that to you?
· Consider whether Beating the Breaking Point might be a fit to support you in filling the gaps in your training and enhancing your capacity for resilience in the face of persistent stress (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!). Learn more here, including what the program includes, our no-risk guarantee, and the high rated feedback from our past students.
Additional Resources:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
Welcome to our final installment of "Above and Beyond", a series through October spotlighting the efforts of 3 amazing helping professionals who have taken their experiences and sought out ways to use their stories to support others in First Response and Front Line work. Today, I am joined by Patrick Greenhill. Among his accomplishments, Sgt. Greenhill was the Program Coordinator for Safe Passages, an initiative that opened the doors of police agencies as access points to substance abuse treatment services and other necessary ancillary services. The Safe Passages Initiative began in 2016 and has run in 14 Cleveland area police agencies since that time. The program was intended as a model program for public/private community partnerships to address overall community health and wellness. More recently, Patrick has partnered with a team from various backgrounds to develop The 4Rs Path: Emotional Resilience, Mission Readiness, Health Reintegration, and Retention which is focused on both individual and organization health and wellness. The 4Rs Path team is comprised of individuals from varied backgrounds and professional knowledge to include first responders, active-duty military, military veterans, and mindset performance coaches, among others. During this episode, we talk about the desire to help, the hurts from helping, the systems that support (or fail to support), and the hope to heal while remaining committed to the work.
Listen in to our conversation and share it with those you know.
Episode Challenge:
· Reflect on your story within the work you do. What have been some of the wins? What has helped you remain in it?
· Consider whether Beating the Breaking Point might be a fit to support you in filling the gaps in your training and enhancing your capacity for resilience in the face of persistent stress (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!). Learn more at the link above, including what the program includes, our no-risk guarantee, and the high rated feedback from our past students.
Additional Resources:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
Welcome to our second installment of "Above and Beyond", a series through October spotlighting the efforts of 3 amazing helping professionals who have taken their experiences and sought out ways to use their stories to support others in First Response and Front Line work. Today, I am joined by Michael Sugrue, retired law enforcement and co-author of “Relentless Courage: Winning the Battle Against Front Line Trauma”. We talk about the events that led to Michael’s retirement and that inspire his book, co-authored with Shauna ‘Doc’ Springer. We dive into the learnings that have emerged from a career on the front lines, the impacts to family and loved ones, and his efforts to support others in preventing the same lived experience and finding support in the challenges of front line helping professions.
Listen in to our conversation and share it with those you know.
Episode Challenge:
· Reflect on your story within the work you do. What has impacted you? What stories stand out in your mind? If you wrote a book about your experiences, what would stand out to others? How might you share your story with people in your life?
· Consider whether Beating the Breaking Point might be a fit to support you in filling the gaps in your training and enhancing your capacity for resilience in the face of persistent stress (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!). Learn more at the link above, including what the program includes, our no-risk guarantee, and the high rated feedback from our past students.
Additional Resources:
Follow Michael Sugrue on Instagram and get the book, “Relentless Courage: Winning the Battle Against Front Line Trauma”.
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
We're BACK!!!
It has felt like a long but genuinely refreshing break and I am SO excited and grateful to be back in your inbox once again to share about a new season of the Behind the Line podcast, highlighting wellness strategies for hardworking helping professionals. I hope that you have been able to find pockets of calm, joy, silliness and connection over the course of your summertime, and that you and yours are settling into the new rhythms that seem to come with the early fall months. I have been grateful to hear from some of you during our summer break, and know that life never quits, so know that I also see you in your efforts to keep showing up even as life keeps handing you more and harder and heavier.
I will admit that while my summer offered some much needed refreshing, it also afforded me some new perspective that I have mixed feelings about sharing with you. Back in the spring, I was presented with the opportunity to make a big move for my clinical practice. I, alongside my family, decided to purchase a new office space for the clinic I own. It was an intense decision making process that depleted me quite a bit and resulted in the decision to take the summer off from podcasting in an effort to restore and rebuild capacity. It was also with the knowing that while the decision was made, the real rubber-hit-road of the decision would be coming in full force in the fall. We close on the deal in the coming month or so, and will begin a complete build out of the interior space...meaning that I will be continuing care for my full-time caseload of clients, managing our clinic, continuing projects like the podcast and supporting coaching my students inside the Beating the Breaking Point resilience training program, and overseeing the construction of our new expanded office space. Looking ahead to the additional demands on time and energy, I have made the hard but necessary decision to reduce the podcast frequency to bi-weekly. You will still be hearing from me with new episodes every other week, and I want to encourage you to use the alternating "off" weeks to catch up on episodes you may have missed from our last 3 seasons. I am hoping that this pace will allow me to continue bringing you valuable support while allowing me to balance work and life and all the other things!
And that brings us to our very first episode of season 4! For October, we are kicking off a series called "Above and Beyond", spotlighting the efforts of 3 amazing helping professionals who have taken their experiences and sought out ways to use their stories to support others in First Response and Front Line work. Today, I am joined by Nathan Kapler, retired RCMP member and host of the Ten Thirty Three podcast. We do a deep dive into Nate's experience of posttraumatic stress, addiction, recovery, and choosing to use his story to make change and inspire a different roadmap for others in law enforcement. Nate brings insightful, meaningful thoughts that apply to anyone in helping work.
Listen in to our conversation and share it with those you know.
Episode Challenge:
· Reflect on your story within the work you do. What parts stand out to you? How would you tell it to others, like someone considering entering the work? What has shaped you/changed you? How do you intentionally manage/mitigate how the work impacts you?
· Consider whether Beating the Breaking Point might be a fit to support you in filling the gaps in your training and enhancing your capacity for resilience in the face of persistent stress (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!). Learn more at the link above, including what the program includes, our no-risk guarantee, and the high rated feedback from our past students.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Nathan Kapler and the Ten Thirty Three podcast at the podcast website, the Instagram page, or listen now on apple podcast or on youtube.
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
Have you ever felt like to do your job you are sacrificing parts of your soul? Like you have lost parts of your self and your belief in goodness? Front Line jobs demand a lot and expose you to some of the worst moments for people. Beyond the calls, the lack of support from the systems that “support” you can also undermine any sense of ok-ness. Retaining your sense of humanity and goodness and keeping your wholehearted desire for helping intact can be incredibly hard.
Bridging off of last week’s episode, I am honoured to be joined by Dr. Hillary McBride to continue the discussion on wholehearted helping.
Learn more about Hillary’s work here:
https://hillarylmcbride.com/ where you can learn more about her work as a therapist, speaker and the author of “Mothers, Daughters and Body Image”, “Embodiment and Eating Disorders”, and “The Wisdom of Your Body”.
Listen in to our conversation and share it with those you know.
Episode Challenge:
· Reflect on your experience of wholeheartedness in the work. What was the heart that brought you to the work at the start? How is it feeling now? How do you protect your heart? How do you keep being vulnerable with your helping heart?
· Register for Beating the Breaking Point (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!), my online resilience training program.
Additional Resources:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Check out some of our related episodes…
- Daring Leadership (Season 3, Episodes 34-41)
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
**Rate & Review Behind the Line on Apple Podcast – here **
Have you ever felt like to do your job you are sacrificing parts of your soul? Like you have lost parts of your self and your belief in goodness? Front Line jobs demand a lot and expose you to some of the worst moments for people. Beyond the calls, the lack of support from the systems that “support” you can also undermine any sense of ok-ness. Retaining your sense of humanity and goodness and keeping your wholehearted desire for helping intact can be incredibly hard.
Today I am joined by Jake Khym to talk about wholehearted helping. Jake is a Catholic leader with over 20 years experience in various religious and therapeutic settings. He has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology with a concentration in Catechetics. Jake has worked in adult faith formation, seminarian and priestly formation, trauma therapy, and has had a private counseling practice for over 17 years. Currently, Jake offers human and pastoral formation to religious leaders, is a consultant to various ministries and organizations across North America, offers an annual Men's Retreat in British Columbia, Canada, accompanies male leaders on their journey of faith, and co-hosts two podcasts, Restore the Glory and Way of the Heart. With two children at university, Jake currently lives in Abbotsford, BC with his wife Heather and one of their three children.
Learn more about Jake’s work here:
Life Restoration Ministries - liferestoration.ca (Non-profit charity)
Restore the Glory Podcast - restoretheglorypodcast.com (podcast by two therapists sharing their personal and professional experiences)
Way of the Heart Podcast - wayoftheheartpodcast.com (podcast for men about living an intentional life with God)
Listen in to our conversation and share it.
Episode Challenge:
· Reflect on your experience of wholeheartedness in the work. What was the heart that brought you to the work at the start? How is it feeling now? How do you protect your heart? How do you keep being vulnerable with your helping heart?
· Register for Beating the Breaking Point (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!), my online resilience training program.
Additional Resources:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Check out some of our related episodes…
- Daring Leadership (Season 3, Episodes 34-41)
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
We are finishing re-sharing a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
This episode included some time-based events that have now ended.
…And that’s a wrap! Today’s episode wraps up our series following Brené Brown’s work from her book, Dare to Lead. This episode includes the bits and pieces we skipped over along the way for the sake of time, as well as some thoughts to tie together the concepts from the book with the interviews with T.C. Randall and Jennifer Pound, as well as with general applications in a front line work pace and environment.
Some final thoughts and resources from Brené and Dare to Lead:
Armored Leadership vs. Daring Leadership – check out the list here.
Tools to Give & Receive Feedback – check out “The Engaged Feedback Checklist” here.
Concerns & Applications – I encourage you to listen to hear some of the feedback and concerns I’ve heard from listeners throughout this series and my thoughts on how we work to apply these conceptual level skills to the very real and challenging work on the front lines.
Episode Challenge:
Having listened to this series, what is one step you can take in our workplace to grow in your daring leadership? What are you willing to commit to and how does it align with your values and the leader you want to be? …Remember, “who you are is how you lead.”
Additional Resources:
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and Daring Greatly. These are some of my favourite books for personal development and wellness. She has a couple of other books that are also excellent, but if you’re new to her work, these are the ones I would highly suggest starting with.
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
Show Notes:
We are continuing to re-share a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
I am grateful to Jennifer Pound for joining me today. Some of the pieces that stood out to me in our conversation, as it relates to aspects of the system that need to change and tools that daring leaders can work to engage with more intentionally included:
· Limited training around PTSD and mental health related OSI’s, which reduces our ability to self-assess and identify our risks and needs early on in the process. This increases our risk for a greater degree of impact.
· Lack of accessibility to treatment or intervention support in a timely manner. A lack of clarity about the process and the steps to go through. A lack of support in navigating the process and a need for system advocacy for those needing support through the process while managing an OSI.
· Failure to support connection and bridging through the process of being off work with an OSI. This leaves a feeling of being abandoned by the system we have given so much to serve, cultivates resentment that enhances the impact of the OSI and exacerbates symptoms. During these times, we need connection and support and the effort needs to come from within the system, not from those who are struggling to get by while managing an OSI.
· A need for collaboration. Those who know the most about the impacts of the work are those on the front lines engaged in the work. Those in the upper levels of the system need to be open to hearing from others and willing to hear ideas and address needs collaboratively.
Episode Challenge:
Consider these questions: Were you trained in what to look for as it relates to your own mental wellness and work related stress injuries? Do you have a strong understanding of the process and steps if you were to need support within the system that you work? How can you increase your knowledge of these pieces to support your wellness need?
Additional Resources:
You can learn more about Jennifer and her work advocating for First Responders and Front Line Workers by checking out her blog, “Stay On The Line” at fuelforfirstresponders.com. You can also view recent media coverage on CBC, here; and on CTV here.
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and Daring Greatly. These are some of my favourite books for personal development and wellness. She has a couple of other books that are also excellent, but if you’re new to her work, these are the ones I would highly suggest starting with.
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
Show Notes:
We are continuing to re-share a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
I am so thankful to T.C. Randall for joining me today, sharing his experience as an ER Nurse of 14 years now off on medical leave due to work-related PTSD. Our conversation today focuses on the impacts of broken systems to the very real people working to offer services and make a difference to our communities…people exactly like you. We also work to talk about our perspectives around what needs to change and where we can collectively work to transform the system from the inside out.
T.C. Also discusses these topics and more in his book, The View From The Wrong Side Of The Day: A Story About Nursing, PTSD And Other Shenanigans. You can snag a copy of his book here, or get it on your kindle here! Learn more about T.C. by checking out http://www.wrongsideoftheday.com/ and http://www.tcrandall.net/.
Some of my favourite discussion points that emerged during this conversation (where I got RILED UP!) and connected to the practical ways we can work to transform broken systems from the inside out included:
1. Cultural Level Change:
a. Reducing stigma around workplace mental health and wellness (speaking, clarifying, normalizing and supporting that no one comes out unscathed).
b. Increasing efforts toward prevention and early intervention including training staff in how to assess their status and know the next steps (or who to talk to in an effort to find out the next steps).
c. Normalizing support seeking, and clarifying ways to seek support and processes to access the appropriate support readily.
2. Management/Upper Level Change:
a. Changing the tendency toward reactive band-aid solutions, working instead to identify preventative strategies to reduce load and support the greatest investment which is into the wellness of the PEOPLE doing the WORK.
b. Engaging collaboratively (ie. LISTENING MORE THAN TALKING) with staff to understand the pressure points and actively working together to find creative solutions that actually work to solve the problems rather than juggling them.
3. Public Awareness Level Change:
a. Supporting information for the public around reasonable expectations and the challenges facing the parts of the system they may interact with the most.
b. Supporting information for the public around ways to support the system on a broader level as well as the front line staff most directly impacted.
4. Structural Level Change:
a. Making support accessible (with fewer hoops and WAY more clarity around how to navigate the process). This is both a workplace-level challenge as well as a community-access-to-services challenge.
b. More effectively identifying and supporting the levels of the system that add pressure (I loved TC’s comment of the new ER being like a bigger funnel on the same sized hose – if we don’t support the capacity and efficiency of community health as well as in-patient care, making changes to the ER’s capacity does little to reduce wait times, etc. This problem exists in so many ways that are not specific to ER’s and healthcare!).
c. Taking a stance of prevention and early-intervention in all levels of problem solving rather than being in a constant state of reactively putting out fires.
Episode Challenge:
If you haven’t yet, check out our free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Understanding where you stand is a huge step as we work to be our most effective selves and people, professionals and leaders.
Take some time to consider some of the areas of change we identified in this episode (listed above) and how these fit within your workplace system dynamic. What are the most significant areas that you see needing change, and what are some ways you can start to make inroads?
Additional Resources:
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out T.C. Randall’s book, The View From The Wrong Side Of The Day: A Story About Nursing, PTSD And Other Shenanigans. You can snag a copy of his book here, or get it on your kindle here!
Connected to our series on daring leadership, I also continue to encourage you to grab Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including
Show Notes:
We are continuing to re-share a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
Today’s episode covers the final aspect of daring leadership, following the work of Brené Brown in her book, Dare to Lead: Learning to Rise. This episode is all about how to handle the hard moments, and how to make them more fruitful for individuals and teams. The learning to rise process focuses on three main pieces: the reckoning, the rumble and the revolution.
The reckoning: This is all about awareness – building our own awareness of when we’re stumbling into a problem or hard interactions, cultivating awareness of our emotions and needs, and preparing to rumble. It means getting clear with ourselves and curious with others.
The rumble: This is the process of confronting challenges together – not in a confrontational way, but rather in a collaborative one with shared curiosity and a willingness to acknowledge the stories we are telling ourselves in an effort the seek clarity and to disconfirm our conspiracies and confabulations. This is where we talk about SFD’s (shitty first drafts) and the story rumble process for teams.
Brené identifies three questions we should ask ourselves about our shitty first drafts:
1. What more do I need to learn and understand about the situation?
2. What more do I need to learn and understand about the other people in the story?
3. What more do I need to learn and understand about myself?
The revolution: This is an acknowledgement that participating in daring leadership skills, particularly those around rising, is revolutionary. It is culture shaping and transformative.
During this episode I talked about a couple of Brené’s free online resources related to today’s topic, here they are (you can access these and other free resources from Brené here):
The Story Rumble Process (A Tool for Groups & Teams)
Dare to Lead Read Along Workbook (you can find exercises including the piece I mention about “permission slips” in here)
Episode Challenge:
Notice your SFD’s (shitty first drafts) in various parts of your life and try checking them out with the people in your life. “The story I’m telling myself is…”
Share this podcast with those you know who are in First Response & Front Line Work – emergency response workers, social services workers, healthcare workers, law enforcement workers, community support workers…the list goes on! Help us on our mission to support wellness and sustainability on the front lines.
Additional Resources:
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and Daring Greatly. These are some of my favourite books for personal development and wellness. She has a couple of other books that are also excellent, but if you’re new to her work, these are the ones I would highly suggest starting with.
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
Show Notes:
We are continuing to re-share a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
We are continuing in our series on daring leadership following the work of Brené Brown in her book, Dare to Lead. Today we are focusing on the third area of courageous and daring leadership: BRAVING trust. In this episode we break down the BRAVING acronym for trust and discuss the value and importance of trust in cultivating committed and caring workplace cultures.
Brené and her team have already done the hard work of summarizing the acronym into a beautiful downloadable pdf, and you can find that here under The Braving Inventory. This link also offers access to several other free tools that are connected to her Dare to Lead work.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and Daring Greatly. These are some of my favourite books for personal development and wellness. She has a couple of other books that are also excellent, but if you’re new to her work, these are the ones I would highly suggest starting with.
Episode Challenge:
Take some time to look over the braving inventory and consider your personal areas of strength and areas for growth. Consider your workplace and where these pieces show up in your workplace or fail to show up and consider some steps you can take to model some of these areas of deficit in your workplace.
Consider bringing the braving inventory into your team and open discussion about applications within your team/workplace.
Additional Resources:
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
Show Notes:
We are continuing to re-share a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
As we continue our series on daring leadership, following the work of Brené Brown and her book Dare to Lead, today we are talking about living into our values. This is about being able to identify what is important to us and ways to engage in our lives that align with these values.
Too often we fail to reflect on our values and they become background to our daily choices. We go into survival mode, getting through the days and the challenges but lacking intention. Living into our values asks us to get clear on what really matters to us, the core aspects of what we believe matters most. It then means stepping out of survival mode and developing clear intentionality in behaving in ways that reflect these values, even (and especially) when it is unpopular or uncomfortable. To do this Brené outlines three steps:
Step One: We can’t live into values that we can’t name.
You can access a list of values developed by Brené and her team, here (click on the one called List of Values). Use this tool to narrow down one or two values that feel defining of you. Brené instructs that you can ask yourself these three questions to help guide the process (taken from Dare to Lead, 2018):
1. Does this define me?
2. Is this who I am at my best?
3. Is this a filter that I use to make hard decisions?
Step two: taking values from BS to behaviour.
This involves aligning your actions to the values you’ve identified – it’s where rubber meets road. Brené suggests three questions to help clarify these behaviours (taken from Dare to Lead, 2018):
1. What are three behaviours that support your value?
2. What are three slippery behaviours that are outside your value?
3. What’s an example of a time when you were fully living into this value?
Step three: empathy and self compassion, the two most important seats in the arena.
We need to use empathy to be curious listeners through the process of living into our values and allowing others to live into theirs. We need to utilize empathy to bridge between teams who have varying values as well as varying experiences of being in the arena that shape how they show up. We need self-compassion to manage when we fudge things up, to extend ourselves some grace and an assumption of positive intent.
Episode Challenge:
1. Use the List of Values curated by Brené and her team and narrow this down to one or two that feel defining for you. Use the questions above to help the process. If you are in a position of leadership, consider asking those in your team to do the same exercise and discuss the ways your values show up in your work.
2. Work through the “operationalizing” process to identify behaviours that allow you to walk your talk.
3. Consider your stance on operating from an assumption of positive intent. Does this feel easy/obvious to you that people are doing the best they can with what they have, or does it feel improbable/unlikely/rub you the wrong way? If you have someone in your life (work or otherwise) who you are struggling with, what would change about your approach to them/the situation if you were to know with 100% certainty that they are doing the very best they can with what they have right now? Would the situation with them feel different if you were able to know this was true?
If assuming positive intent is difficult for you, and if you struggle with other pieces like perfectionism, lack of self-compassion, etc., look below for additional resources that you may find helpful. I highly recommend all of Brené Brown’s work, although I think my favourite (aside from Dare to Lead) is Rising Strong…possibly because it was the first book of hers that I read and after that I was hooked!
Additional Resources:
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and Daring Greatly. These are some of my favourite books for personal development and wellness. She has a couple of other books that are also excellent, but if you’re new to her work, these are the ones I would highly suggest starting with. In addition to her books, she also has two podcasts, Dare to Lead and Unlocking Us, as well as a ton of free resources and guides available on her website.
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Show Notes:
For the next several weeks I am re-sharing a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
Today we are tackling empathy which involves a set of five skills. Together these skills and the act of engaging empathically is a lynchpin piece in the willingness to rumble with vulnerability – which is one of the four components of daring leadership identified by Brené Brown’s research.
During this video we identify the value of empathy lies in our ability to connect in a real and meaningful way with people, who are high value assets within systems and organizations. We need people to bring their best in order to offer the best services and supports to the communities you serve – and we help cultivate their best by offering them leadership that sees, hears, knows and values them as whole people. Empathy is a set of skills that when used together offers space for people to be seen, heard, known and valued – empathy works to see what someone is struggling with through the lens of what they feel about it. It is curious and willing to learn rather than know, and it creates meaningful connection which helps to grow safety, trust, confidence and commitment. Workplace cultures that place high value on their people in offering these pieces have repeatedly shown significant improvement in job satisfaction, reduced burnout and related medical/stress leaves, reduced absences, increased productivity and increased commitment to the job and workplace.
The Five Empathy Skills:
1. To see the world as others see it, also known as perspective taking
2. To be nonjudgmental
3. To understand another person’s feelings (and be able to accurately label feelings – AKA Emotional Intelligence)
4. To communicate your understanding of that person’s feelings
5. Mindfulness
Click here to watch a short video by Brené Brown on the difference between empathy and sympathy/advice giving/etc.
Click here to jump to one of my favourite tools for building feeling fluency – the Feelings Wheel (it’s great, I promise!!).
This episode is the third in a series covering the principles that emerged from Brené Brown’s research and writing. I would highly recommend her book, Dare to Lead, and would encourage you to consider reading along as we cover pieces of it. I generally highly recommend her resources which include podcasts, a Netflix special, a youTube video on empathy and a TedTalk about vulnerability and shame from a number of years ago.
Episode Challenge:
Take some time to think about how you interact with empathy. Maybe it’s something you use all the time, or maybe it’s been a skill you’ve undervalued, ignored or never learned. Take a look at the five empathy skills and notice which areas you could work harder at honing and improving. Consider where you could implement these skills more effectively to cultivate daring leadership and a culture of care within your workplace, as well as within your life outside of work.
Additional Resources:
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and Daring Greatly. These are some of my favourite books for personal development and wellness. She has a couple of other books that are also excellent, but if you’re new to her work, these are the ones I would highly suggest starting with.
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
Show Notes:
For the next several weeks I am re-sharing a "Blast from the Past" series that I did back in Season 1 of Behind the Line. It was one of my favourite series and I think really important content for those who may have missed it the first time. The series takes a look at Brené Brown's work in her book, Dare to Lead, and discusses applications to helping professions where it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we improve leadership and systems, because they are hella broken. I hope you'll share this series with your sphere of influence and that together we can make it different...
Among the many challenges facing First Responders & Front Line Workers, systemic toxic workplace dynamics is a significant factor impacting wellness. Every front line worker I have ever known has identified this as a stressor they experience and has been a significant factor in the decline of worker wellness for far more people than it should be. Today we are talking about these realities, as well as a challenge to raise up a new generation of leaders who are equipped to lead from a place of wellness and with a focus on wellness, with a hope to create change to these toxic systems from the inside out.
In this episode I share some of my own experiences of toxic workplace environments as well as my experience learning about leadership and collaboratively creating an incredible workplace culture that has been life changing for myself and everyone else who works in this space. I also share some pieces that have shaped this – largely emerging from the work of Brené Brown in her book, Dare to Lead. The pieces from her book and quotes identified in today’s episode are below for reference, as is a link to this book and some of her others (they are all phenomenal!).
No matter what role you are in, you are a leader. You shape and influence because you exist within the system. It may be in small ways, but it counts. And what if we connected together and all our small pieces added up even quicker into something totally altering to the status quo of the broken system that continues to break good people.
Drawn from Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (2018, p. 4, 10-12):
Definition of Leadership: “I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.”
Her research identifies that there are three pre-requisites at the heart of daring leadership (as outlined in the definition above), and these include:
1. “You can’t get to courage without rumbling with vulnerability. Embrace the suck.”
She then outlines that courage, in this context, involves four key skill sets:
a. Rumbling with vulnerability
b. Living into our values
c. Braving trust
d. Learning to rise
Note: We will be covering these topics in coming episodes.
2. “Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead.”
No truer words have ever been spoken. “Who we are is how we lead” is exactly why we need to work at investing in ourselves and cultivating our own sustainable wellness plan in order to be able to lead from a place of wellness and in a way that asks others to invest in their own wellness for the sake of organizational wellness and the supports offered down the line to the populations we are serving.
3. “Courage is contagious. To scale daring leadership and build courage in teams and organizations, we have to cultivate a culture in which brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are the expectations, and armor is not necessary or rewarded.”
We have to lean into our own courage – which, remember, connects back to being vulnerable – to be able to lead others to do the same. When we can be more real with each other, human with one another, there are more opportunities to connect authentically and work together in ways that can be transformative for all involved.
This episode is the first in a series covering the principles that emerged from Brené Brown’s research and writing. I would highly recommend her book, and would encourage you to consider reading along as we cover pieces of it. I generally highly recommend her resources which include podcasts, a Netflix special, a youTube video on empathy and a TedTalk about vulnerability and shame from a number of years ago.
Episode Challenge:
During the coming week, pay attention to where you have influence within your workplace. How can you anchor to your own wellness and model wellness to others within your workplace? How can you demonstrate care and valuing of others in the ways you wish leadership demonstrated? What would it look like to be vulnerable in ways that would enhance connection and leadership at work? And last but not least, consider sharing the podcast and related tools with others in your workplace – start a community of helpers who are motivated in becoming equipped to really make change to the system, together.
Additional Resources:
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Beating the Breaking Point Indicators Checklist & Triage Guide to help you self-assess your experiences and exposure to burnout. Use this tool as information as you get honest with yourself about the impacts you have experienced – and start considering telling the story of your resilience as someone who has invested in their own wellness by looking into our Beating the Breaking Point Training Program designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers. You can grab the free indicators checklist here, and learn more about the training program here.
As discussed in todays’ episode, check out Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead. You may also enjoy some of her other books, including Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and Daring Greatly. These are some of my favourite books for personal development and wellness. She has a couple of other books that are also excellent, but if you’re new to her work, these are the ones I would highly suggest starting with.
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscrib...
Show Notes:
Today we are continuing our new series called “Family of Front Line Heroes” where I get the chance to speak with spouses and adult children of front line helpers who will be sharing about their experiences, the challenges they have faced, the joys associated with supporting someone on the front lines, and the needs they see for both front line helpers and the families that love them. My hope is that all of you listening will also encourage your family members to listen in and connect more together around how the job is served not only by you but also by your loved ones vicariously. And I hope that offers opportunities to open new conversations around what is cool, what is hard, and how you might support one another in the midst of it.
I am so excited to share Jackie Brandhorst and Kathy Cantrell with you! I'll admit, this is one of my favourite interviews EVER!
Dr. Brandhorst is an Associate Professor of Management and the director of the Integrative Business Experience (IBE) at the University of Central Missouri. She teaches courses in Business Communication, Management Communication, Management of Organizations, and Strategic Organizational Communication. Brandhorst specializes in organizational communication, employee well-being, and gender and professional identity in workplace contexts. Her research has been published in prestigious journals including NonProfit Leadership and Management, Gender, Work, and Organization, Human Resources Development Review, the Journal of Applied Communication Research, and the Journal of Management Education. She is a member of the National Communication Association and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education.
Kathy Cantrell served as stay-at-home mom and support system to her family for 30 years. She walked the journey of living alongside a career corrections officer while raising kids and navigating all of the challenges of family life.
Listen in to our conversation and share it with your loved one(s).
Episode Challenge:
· Connect with your partner and/or family and start some conversations about their experiences (the good and hard). Learn about their experiences and get curious about how to better know about, care about and support one another.
· Register for Beating the Breaking Point (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!), my online resilience training program.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Jackie's work:
Check out the Prison Officer Podcast by Mike Cantrell, here.
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Check out some of our related episodes…
- Front Line Families – Balancing the Cost & the Protection of Connection (S1E3)
- Front Line Families Series (S1E28-31)
- Voices from the Front Lines with Correctional Officer, Mike (S2E47)
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
Today we are continuing our new series called “Family of Front Line Heroes” where I get the chance to speak with spouses and adult children of front line helpers who will be sharing about their experiences, the challenges they have faced, the joys associated with supporting someone on the front lines, and the needs they see for both front line helpers and the families that love them. My hope is that all of you listening will also encourage your family members to listen in and connect more together around how the job is served not only by you but also by your loved ones vicariously. And I hope that offers opportunities to open new conversations around what is cool, what is hard, and how you might support one another in the midst of it.
I am so grateful to be joined today by the Kristen. Kristen has been a police wife for 10 years to her Los Angeles metropolitan police husband. She is a working mom of two boys ages 5 and 7. She started @heelsandholster, a supportive community for police wives in 2021. She is the author of “Heelsandholster: a police wife devotional” available on Amazon. She is known for her funny, relatable short form videos on Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube. You can also check out her blog, heelsandholster.com.
Listen in to our conversation and share it with your loved one(s).
Episode Challenge:
· Connect with your partner and/or family and start some conversations about their experiences (the good and hard). Learn about their experiences and get curious about how to better know about, care about and support one another.
· Register for Beating the Breaking Point (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!), my online resilience training program.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Kristen's work:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Check out some of our related episodes…
- Front Line Families – Balancing the Cost & the Protection of Connection (S1E3)
- Front Line Families Series (S1E28-31)
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.
Show Notes:
Today we are digging in to a new series called “Family of Front Line Heroes” where I get the chance to speak with spouses and adult children of front line helpers who will be sharing about their experiences, the challenges they have faced, the joys associated with supporting someone on the front lines, and the needs they see for both front line helpers and the families that love them. My hope is that all of you listening will also encourage your family members to listen in and connect more together around how the job is served not only by you but also by your loved ones vicariously. And I hope that offers opportunities to open new conversations around what is cool, what is hard, and how you might support one another in the midst of it.
I am so grateful to be joined today by the lovely Rebecca Lynn. Rebecca Lynn is the founder of Proud Police Wife (.com), a nationally recognized blog, where she provides support, encouragement, education, and resources to law enforcement families. She is also the founder and host of the Annual Police Wife Conference, a virtual conference featuring highly sought after speakers and resources to law enforcement spouses internationally. Rebecca Lynn is the author of The Peacemaker’s Wife, A Journal for Reflection and Encouragement for Police Wives and Girlfriends and Proud Police Wife: 90 Devotions for Women Behind the Badge. She holds a degree in Psychology and Master’s Degree in Education. Rebecca’s husband has been in law enforcement for 14 years and they have three small children.
Listen in to our conversation and share it with your loved one(s).
Episode Challenge:
· Connect with your partner and/or family and start some conversations about their experiences (the good and hard). Learn about their experiences and get curious about how to better know about, care about and support one another.
· Register for Beating the Breaking Point (choose the enhanced support experience – it’s worth it!), my online resilience training program.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Rebecca Lynn's work:
Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).
Check out some of our related episodes…
- Front Line Families – Balancing the Cost & the Protection of Connection (S1E3)
- Front Line Families Series (S1E28-31)
Connect, Rate, Review, Subscribe & Share!
Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at support@thrive-life.ca. I love hearing from you! Subscribe and share this podcast with those you know. I appreciate every like, rating and review – every single one helps this podcast to be seen by other First Responders & Front Line Workers out there. Help me on my mission to help others just like you to not only survive, but to thrive – both on the job and off.
This podcast is designed for First Responders and Front Line Workers including Law Enforcement (Police, RCMP, Corrections, Probation Officers); Public Safety (Fire Fighters, Community Liaison Officers, Emergency Call-Takers and Dispatchers); Social Services (Social Workers, Community Outreach Workers, Addictions Support Workers, Housing Support Workers, etc.); and Public Health (Nurses, Doctors, Hospital and Health Support Staff) and anyone else who works in high exposure, high risk workplaces. Please help us to help our community heroes by sharing this free resource to those you know in these front line roles.